So much for trains

[bellinghman]

I was just attempting to get train fares for a journey from Sierre (Swiss Alps) to London.

Holy crap! How do they expect anyone to use trains? I can get from Sierre to Paris at a reasonable price - a very reasonable price for a direct TGV that takes 5:20. But that's no use whatsoever, if it then costs THREE TIMES AS MUCH for the Paris to London link, which is only 2:40.

</rant>

EDIT: Many thanks for the purpletigron/purplecthulhu's advice on getting round Eurostar.

EDIT: OK, I can do Sierre to Paris-Lyon for 113 CHF, if I buy it from the Swiss, and using the halbtax card. That's just under £48. And going via the "I am American" part of the Eurostar site allows me to buy the single/non-flexible fare at $89 each - which is roughly £45. That's compared to the insane £300+ it was trying to do me for originally for the Paris to London leg!

So, Swiss Alps to central London for £93 isn't too bad. I just wish it wasn't such an incredible hassle finding this all out. If I was a PA doing this, and factoring in the cost of my time, it'd be another matter.

EDIT: Ooops, forgot time zone differences. That was 2:40, not 1:40

Comments

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

Terminal 5 at Heathrow is costing 5.2 billion for the terminal alone. And that's just one airport. How much is going into real rail infrastructure these days, as opposed to repairing the damage from 2 decades of inadequate maintenance? Probably less than that.

[drplokta]

That's about the same price, adjusting for inflation, as the high speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link from London to the coast. The latter will accomplish fewer than 1 billion passenger miles per year (10 million people going less than 100 miles), while the former is half of what's needed for something more like 20 billion passenger miles (20 million additional capacity at Heathrow, average distance 1000 miles). Therefore, the infrastructure cost for flying is about 10% what it is for rail, in this particular example.

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

I don't think passenger miles is a fair comparison here. You can't go to Sydney or LA on the Eurostar, so you are not comparing like with like. The fair comparison is with the number of passengers in which case the costs are about the same.